Jewish Studies Program established

A Jewish-studies initiative that began in 2007 at the University of South Carolina has officially been made an academic program in the College of Arts and Sciences.

The Jewish Studies Program is an interdepartmental and interdisciplinary program under the direction of Dr. Stanley Dubinsky, a professor of linguistics in the English department.

“Jewish studies will enrich academic and cultural experiences for all of our students and will offer programming that will benefit communities in Columbia and throughout South Carolina, a state whose Jewish history extends back to the end of the 17th century,” Dubinsky said. “It is gratifying to have now received official recognition for the program, which has prospered from the hard work of so many.”

Committed to expanding an academic profile in the area of Jewish studies, the university recruited and hired, in 2007, Jewish-studies faculty members in the English, history and religious studies departments of the College of Arts and Sciences. Since then, the developing program has added more than a dozen affiliate faculty from numerous disciplines, co-sponsored a variety of events on campus, begun offering courses in several academic fields, enhanced Jewish student life at the university and created a Web site that serves the campus community, as well as the Jewish community at large.

“The Jewish Studies Program has a bright future,” said Dubinsky. “We look forward to developing further course offerings and research opportunities that will eventually support both an undergraduate minor and a graduate certificate in Jewish Studies. We also will continue to expand public outreach through events and thereby foster interest in Jewish history and culture.”

For more information about the University of South Carolina’s Jewish Studies Program, visit the Web site www.cas.sc.edu/jstp/ or contact Dubinsky at 803-777-2208 or dubinsky@sc.edu.